Monday, January 30, 2012

Monday Meanderings

Note that it FELT like 90! It didn't get much cooler either; I think it only went down to 86. UGH.

The forecast is for a storm, but so far there are no clouds in sight. I think maybe the weatherman has it wrong AGAIN.

Days like this it's hard to get motivated to do anything. I just want to sit directly in front of my fan, occasionally removing the washcloth from around my neck to give it a fresh dip in some icy cold water, while sipping on something equally icy cold.

The morning walk seemed longer than usual, between the intense sun and smelly lake. Not sure what's going on but it smells like rotting fish. ICK! I made it half-way to town before turning around and heading home. Ivan was walking all the way in, to see if he can get the electric company to move a little faster on getting the electric pole installed out by the lot.

Friends who are vacationing in Carlos Paz came to our Sunday night meeting. Marcelo is a bi-vocational pastor and he and his wife are musically gifted. Ivan asked if they might want to teach us a new chorus, and they just happened to have their guitar and flute in the car. We enjoyed a wonderful time of singing together, and we even taught them a new chorus :) Silvia was actually a classmate of Ivan's brother in Santa Rosa, so the friendship goes waaaaay back.

I'm sure y'all have heard Picnik.com is shutting down. That makes me sooooo sad! They've been my go-to site for making banners, putting together collages, or just when I needed to add text to a photo. I've read several blog posts about other options, but the consensus is that no one site has all the features of Picnik... which means we'll have to use multiple sites, depending on what we want to do. If you're a fellow Picnik enthusiast, you might want to check out blog posts by Centsational Girl and The SITS Girls -- I personally found these the most helpful and informative.

During a search for ice cream and sorbet recipes I came across a Round-Up of Frozen Desserts hosted by Mike's Table back in 2008. Some of the recipes sound very weird and I probably won't be trying them (fig and rosewater ice cream with crushed pistachio and dark chocolate? roasted plums with tarragon? I think not) but I do like the sound of fat free mango frozen yogurt, no-cook coffee ice cream, as well as a host of other entries. Definitely bookmark worthy!

A recent stream on facebook led me to Moody Radio, and specifically Midday Connection. I've enjoyed listening to a few of their programs, and appreciate that their archived programs are available online. I'm always on the lookout for something good to listen to while I cook, clean or sew.

I've mentioned Sew4Home before, but if you missed it the last time around, you really should check them out. They offer a ton of tutorials! Although the main focus is on things for the house, that's definitely not all they offer. Last Monday they had directions for making his 'n her pajama shorts. I've literally gone back through their entire site, bookmarking tips and project ideas for future reference. I really want to make their pretty ruffled glasses case with a handy key ring, to use when we go on walks. They have give-aways on a regular basis, too.

The latest issue of House of Fifty is out. I haven't had a chance to look through it yet (I like to allow myself a decent amount of time to oooh and aaaah over all the pretty pictures, and read each article) but you can count on a good deal of eye candy for the home.

I've recently started reading some sewing blogs and came across this one by a Brit. She offers free video tutorials which is invaluable for a visual learner like me. She also has lots of good advice for beginning sewers. She just came out with an e-book called Fashion Sewers Guide to Great Sewing Project that looks worthwhile, too.

I think that's enough for today, don't you? If you check out all the links, you'll be busy for a while :)